io8 



Nutmeg-Pigeon, from its habit of devouring the 

 fruits, the seed or nutmeg being thrown up entire and 

 uninjured. Though these Pigeons have a narrow 

 beak, yet their jaws and throat are so extensible that 

 they can swallow fruits of very large size. I had 

 before shot a species much smaller than this one, 

 which had a number of hard globular palm-fruits in 

 its crop, each more than an inch in diameter." 



Writing in the "Ibis" in 1865, the same author 

 says : "This species has a remarkably loud, hoarse, 

 booming note, like the roar of a wild beast. It is 

 the largest and handsomest of the genus. It is very 

 closely allied to Carpophaga chalyhira (Bonaparte), 

 but, if his description and figure are to be relied upon, 

 is quite distinct. The British Museum specimen is of 

 this species, and probably came from the island of 

 Mindanao." 



Since Wallace wrote, his own specimens have 

 come into the possession of the British Museum, 

 which now also has examples from the Moluccas, Aru 

 Islands, K6 Doulan, Matabello, Dammar. I., Banda 

 Sea, Teminbar Island, and Sanghir Island. 



Wallace also says (" Malay Archipelago") that it 

 "inhabits K^, Banda, Matabello, and Goram, and is 

 replaced by a distinct species, Carpophaga neglecta, in 

 Ceram." 



Specimens of this bird were obtained by the 

 collectors on H.M.S. "Challenger"; and in his 

 report on the collections of birds, Count Salvadori, 

 writing in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society 

 for 1878, p. 89, quotes the observations on the birds 

 brought in : — "Eyes between orange and coral-red; 

 the stomach in all contained fruit and seeds ; legs 

 coral-red ; bill black. There were a great many of 

 these Nutmeg Pigeons shot, enough for lunch for the 

 whole ward-room. They were very good eating. 

 J.M." One cannot wonder at the concluding state- 



